Author: Seema Misra

Seema Misra undertakes freelance projects for illustrations, content creation, copywriting, and social media marketing through her blog Lonely Canopy. To unwind, she watches world cinema or travels across it. She talks to her plants and sometimes people as well. But more often than not … you will find her curled up in her favorite corner reading a book while sipping strong coffee.

Satpada, nestled on the southern tip of the lake, marks the point where Chilika meets the Bay of Bengal. It is visited by over 150,000 migratory birds during winter. At Satpada, one can watch a host of birds, including the pink Flamingos, Sandpipers, Kingfishers, and Golden Plovers. This lake is also home to the largest number of Irrawaddy dolphins.

While reading up on this building, which has had a storied past, I was happy to find out that the recent restoration taken up by the Rajasthan government. Much of the damage caused by the neglect and abuse it suffered due to the bus boarding activity has been addressed. The house has been restored to the glory it enjoyed as the residence of the maharajah of Bikaner. Now, a hep cultural center, its Facebook page boasts of the high-society events.

This house, named Tera Vera, was built by an Anglo-Indian, E J Vaz in the 1940s for his daughters, Vera Vaz and Dolce Vaz. E J Vaz was a high court lawer from Bombay. His daughters were spinsters. Vera and Dolce both worked as tutors, the former taught English and the latter the piano. They lived peacefully in this house most of their lives.

A group of students, mostly from Leh and Ladakh, studying at Delhi University came together to preserve the cultural heritage of Leh. Flowering Dharma, an NGO was launched in 2009, as result of their efforts.

We had many bird watching adventures with Vinod, relished many a sumptuous and healthy home cooked meals by Sini (including a squid preparation that takes almost 3-4 hours to prepare) and spent silent evenings listening to the sounds of the forest.

Raazi harkens back to the 70s Bollywood music, heavy reliance on chorus, and anthemic sounds. A true period piece which makes it timeless. I loved Mirzya but have somehow not heard it as much as I would have imagined(except Teen Gawah and Aaave re hichki), it is quite specific to the film in terms of the poetry.

I loved Beyond the Clouds, for its engaging and focused plotline, a refreshing look at Bombay, and a lilting score that knows when to restrain and when to go all out. The film is filled with moments of grave misery. These are doomed lives, and hope is but a shadow play on a wall soon to collapse.

Once upon a time in Jaisalmer, the walls of Salam Singh’s Haveli trembled with occurrences of cruelty. Women feared event its shadow, and the curse it could bring upon them. A few miles away in the Thar Desert, Kuldhara village has similar stories of a curse, and remains an abandoned place. Legend says that it remains deserted to this day because of the misdeeds of diwan Salam Singh.